Christmas time

Well I guess that this days we all are preparing somehow for Christmas.  For me Christmas is a once-a-year celebration surrounded by such a magical atmosphere like no other. It comes with more bells and whistles, smell of Christmas tree and gingerbread than any other holiday, and brings an enormous amount of joy. Thanks to the Christmas decorations which can be seen in small and big cities we can really feel the Christmas atmosphere. This magical atmosphere is also present in Zadar. Unfortunately I did not experience it myself (next year for sure!) but my friend send my some picture of Zadar full of enormous amount of colorful lights, decorations and Christmas trees of course. In my opinion town looks totally different than it used to look during summer period of time. The town which for many people is associated only with summer and see in now totally different. However, is still looks remarkable.

Please have a look at Christmas pictures of Zadar and enjoy!

Santa Claus is coming to town!

Did all of you were visit by Santa Claus? Did you get some nice gift? I do not know what is your feeling, but for me, this year 6^th of December was rather a hot day. When I was a child I could not imagine a 6^th of December without snow. How the Santa will come? His sledge will not work without snow! Well, some kids do not have such a dilemma because in their towns there is hardly ever snow on 6^th of December. This situation is common in Zadar. When I check the forecast two days ago, the temperature there was between 10-12 degrees, above 0 of course :)

 

Kids in Zadar believe in Santa as well as we, and this year he visited them in their city with his best friend ;) My friend from Zadar sent me some photos, which she made on Saturday, and I share them with you.. As we can see it was a really hot and sunny day. I wish it was the same in Poznan! Do you recognize this place? It is a People’s square of course, a main one in Zadar. I do not know if you agree, but photos looks strange for me – as if Santa come in the summer (why not actually :p). However, Zadar every year prepares for the youngest citizens some sweet surprise on this day and I like this idea a lot!

 

Let's have walk around Zadar!

Well last few posts I was describing the main worth-seeing places in Zadar, but I think it is more interesting to see them all on the film. Some time ago I found the film on youtube where traveller - Burris with his camra have a walk around Zadar. He started  his walk exactly from the same place where I started my story about Zadar. I hope that this enable you to cutch up with Zadar.

Of course, there is many films like this in the Internet but this one I particulary recomend. Firstly, this short movie show Zadar in the same shape as I remember it - it its full beauty with all important places. Secondly the guy who made this film is describing all places in a very nice way and  is quite funny.

Apart from film about Zadar Burris on his channel in youtube has films about Dubrovnik and Zagreb.Anyway, I highly recomend this guy fims, noo only about croatia :)

 I love this shot movie, it makes me feel as if I am in Zadar again:) Enjoy watching the film!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__3sG4cDXr0

Historical places in Zadar

Apart from People's Square, See Organ or Greetings to the Sun in Zadar we can find other amazing places. One of them is Church of St. Donat – which is called as a trademark of the city. The church was built in the 9th century and is the only building of this type in Europe. The church has long been used for religious purposes however now because of excellent acoustics it is a main place in Zadar of different performances and famous international festivals. I have an opportunity to be at  Musical Evening in St. Donat. It was a concert of medieval and Renaissance music, and for me it was something fabulous.

Next to the Church of St. Donat we can find Roman forum. It is the largest forum from the Roman times in the eastern part of the Adriatic. The founder of the forum was the first Roman Emperor Augustus. The evidence of this are two stone inscriptions from the 3rd century when the construction was completed. Today, the only surviving original parts of forum are pavement, stairs and two decorative monumental columns.

People's Square and place of Church of St. Donat and forum are connected by Kalelagr street. This is the most famous street in Zadar, some people even say that it is older than the city. Street is full of shops, coffees, restaurants and of course ice-cream parlour. 

Sun and water, the two passions of Zadar

Zadar has an intimate relations with sun and it is not just about the surrounding beaches. It is due to the fact that city every night greeting the sun.  On riva (Seaside Boulevard about which I was writing already) is located installation of architect Nicola Basici called "Greetings to the Sun" (Pozdrav Suncu) imitates the solar system in appropriate proportions.
The most spectacular is our star in the shape of a circle with a diameter of 22 meters. It consists of three hundred multilayer glass panels set at the same level as the paved promenade. By the day it is a gigantic solar cell, which emits colorful light at night.

Near to Pozdrav Suncu we can find the second most popular attraction in Zadar – Morske Orgulje (ang: See Organ). They were built eight years ago in the west part of the Seaside Bilevard. Sea Organ produces  sound which is created by the movement of water. It is quite difficult to describe how does it works, so it would be the best if you see it yourself. I attached you a short film which shows this amazing combination of human skills and nature. Plenty of people sit every day at See Organ and getting relax by beautiful music symphony of sea. 

Here you can listen to see organ in Zadar :)

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeGDjvCCkfk

And a picture which shows the part of the riva where see organ and greetings to the sun are located...I miss it so much... :) 

Must see in Zadar - part 1!

As I wrote last time Zadar is one of the most popular Croatian tourist destinations. City offers traveller a number of attractions: ideal accommodation, authentic gourmet delicacies, cultural heritage, modern sports facilities and various excursion programs. Each of us just need to choose the right way for relaxation, favorite sport or entertainment. The most popular part of Zadar is Poluotok (ang. Peninsula) which is surrounded by  by city walls. On Poluotok is located the old town of Zadar – place full of archaeological treasures and monuments. Poluotok can be easily reached not only  by land but also by  bridge. The bridge is one of the most popular meeting point in Zadar. Quite everyone before going somewhere meet each other on this bridge. 

We entered Poluotok by the main gate. At the beginning Zadar has four gates but because of the war now we can see just two. After making several footsteps we are  on Zadar People's Square. This is the center of public life in Zadar from the Renaissance to the present times. The main buildings there are Town Hall, well preserved pre-romantic church of Sv. Lawrence with an atrium, National Theatre and  Ghirardini Palac made in the romantice style with a balcony from the Renaissance (15th century). Glorious tradition of Zadars’ coffee continues today small cafes with open terraces. People's Square is really relaxing place for meetings, as well as numerous events.